Automobile towing rope



Dec. 3, 1929. H. H. KRECHMER AUTOMOBILE TOWING ROPE Filed Nov. 21, .1927

Patented Dec. 3, 1929 HARRY I-I. KBECHMER,.OF VENTNOR, NEW JERSEYAUTOMOBILE TOWING ROPE Application filed November 21, 1927. Serial No.234,769.

This invention relates to tow ropes for vehicles, and to packages formerchandising same.

Tow ropes as at present marketed and used comprise bulky and expensivearticles. The

problem of disposition of such ropes in the automobile or other vehiclepresents diiiiculties usually so annoying that such ropes are notlllClLlClGClllIl the complement of tools and an are therefore missingwhen they are most needed, in frequent instances. It is found also thatafter using such ropes as are available on the market, even if carriedready for use,the return of the rope to its place of stow- .115 age is adisagreeable and mussy job, owing to i the mud and grease always presentupon such ropes after they have been used. The tend ency in automotiveconstruction is, moreover, to conceal and otherwise to eliminate nem-.120 hers formerly used as points of attachment for such tow ropes sothat ordinary tow ropes as used at present find suitable anchoragedifficult, resulting in distortion of the frame members and bending ofparts associated v therewith. In a number of present makes 1 crawlsubstantially under the car in order to effectthe attachment ordetachment and is unpleasant. It is to be notedfurtherthat in thosetowing devices terminating in hooks or other fastening devices, that theweakest portion isat the point of attachment of such hook, and that ifthe hook is torn off the normal operation of the'towing device isprecluded. It is for theforegoing and other reasons that tow ropes as atpresent constituted 4.5 have not gone into more general use as an itemof automotive equipment and when used at all have been unsatisfactoryand in the nature of makeshifts.

Among the objects of this invention are;

. 5o toprovide a towing device of such economy of manufacture that itmay be used onceaand discarded if desired; to provide a tow device ofextreme lightness yet with strength adequate for the purpose; to providea compact package combining a tow device and attaching devices as amerchandising unit; to provide a tow device susceptible to stowage in asmall space, as the pocket of an automobile door; to provide a towingdevice of sheet metal; to provide means for quickly attaching anddetaching a tow rope in an operative position on an automobile; to:provideattaching devices for a semi-flexible ribbon obviating threadingor roving of the ribbon through slots in the devices to improve clampdevices for tow ropes; to providea towing device in which the entirepulling strain is transmitted through a cheap ribbon of sheet metal; andmany other objects and advantages as will be more apparent as thedescription protary side eleva- Fig. 4, represents a plan of the clampand the sheet metal tow rope in a locked position,

Fig. 5, represents a side elevation of the Fig. 6, represents aperspective view of a clamp according to this invention,

Fig. 7, represents a modified form of clamping action available from theclamp of this Fig. 8, is a side elevation of the same, and

9, is afragmentary section through a gas tank of an automobile and theassociated cross frame member with the tow device of this inventionpassed over the frame member without indenting the tank, for a point ofachment of the invention. I have discovered that relatively thin ribbonsof sheet metal have suflicient tensile strength to tow motor vehicleswhen interposed between a power unit and the towed vehicle and suitablyfastened thereto. It is preferred that the sheet metal be of unfinishedcharacter as regards the terminals, being simply cut off in strips byproper machines, with no hooks or other attaching devices applied to theends. The ribbon is of appreciable width, for illustrative purposesonly, say one inch in width, and although somewhat resilient because itis semi-rigid it is susceptible to manipulations and bending by thefingers on lateral lines, to which extent it is flexible. lVith thischaracteristic of semi rigidity and semi flexibility the operator isenabled to form the end of the ribbon in a as to return from its desiredshape, as a partial loop, extend this by the arm under the car withoutgetting under'himself, and cause the partial loop to extend over anattachment point, as an axle,

then" with a' little flip of the wrist cause the end of the ribbon toreturn to a point within easy grasp of the operators hand. It is thusguidable, so to speak, but of such resilience guided position by an easymanipulation. p

A sheet metal ribbon of desired length, preferably of uniform thicknessand width throughout, just as it comes from the ma- 1 chines isprovided, as at 10, which is formed in a coil as at 11 and disposed in acontainer 12, as of metal, upon the inner surface of the verticalwall 13of'which it uncoils to a degree suflicie'nt to establish frictionalengagement'with the wall to prevent undesired dislodgment. In the axialspace in the center of'the coil the pair of nested clamps of theinvention, to be later described, are disposed and the thumb nuts arearranged therein also.

Thefl-id 1 covers the container and exposes xthe contents 'upon'removal.In removing the 'rlb'bon from the containeran end of the rib-'bon,"as""l5,is"held in the hand afterthe re- Inovalbf the clamps, thecontainer is dropped gent to the outer periphery thereof.Replacecontainer fastening devices of any desired sortmay'be used ifdesired.

"The ribbon-terminatesin a substantially 's'qua re end as '15, and is ofsuch gauge as may readily passbetween closely positioned parts,

as for instance the gasoline tank 16 and cross frame member 17, shownin-Fig. 9 although of ample tens1le strength to transmit the "strainfromthe towing device. The end 15 of the ribbon is passed over the anchoringdevice or point of attachment, as the cross frame member 17, or an axle18, as shown in Fig. 3, being brought back in parallelism with theribbon to form a loop, and the end is aflixcd to the main body of theribbon by suitable clamps, as those described herein, as a preferredinstance, in lieu of hooks, or other devices permanently mounted on theribbon, or of buckles or similar devices requiring the threading throughof parts of the ribbon, through slots therein.

The clamp of this invention comprises a body or base 20 having at eachend perpendicular spreaders 21, the edges of which are curved onopposite sides as at 22 to impart curvature and an arching effect to thesuperimposed ribbon in contact with them as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.Intermediate of the spreaders the perpendicular spaced ears 23 areformed, of appreciably less space between them than the width of aspreader. One ear is recessed as at 24 and the other has an opening 25registering with the recess, through which a thumb nut 26 extends with athreaded engagement.

The preferred manner of attachment of the clamps is to form the loopabout the anchoring device as noted, bring the end in contact with themain body portion of the ribbon at a desired point, move the clamplaterally toward the edges of the contacting ribbon portions, push thespreaders between the respective adjacent ribbon portions andsimultaneously push the ears on the body upon the contacting portions asshown in Fig. 5, in which the ribbon is shown in intimate contactbetween the ears,'but spaced immediate- .ly after leaving the ears bythe sprcaders.

The thumb nut is tightened in the opening 25 of its ear 23 against thetwo layers of sheet metal confined between the ears, forcing the layersinto the recess 2 of the other car 23 and rigidly lockinx the two layersof the metal ribbon against relative movement. It is to be noted thatthe curved edges 22 of the spreaders contact with the flat face of theapproximate'ribbon portion in such a manner that upon longitudinal pullon the ribbon, as in the inception of the towing operation the ribbon isforced to assume arcuate form about the curved edges to strengthen theribbon, and of more importance to assure a frictional engagement betweenthe entire width of ribbon with the edge surface of the spreader.

passing over the spreaders and between the ears, so that the frictionalengagement between the spreaders and the adjacent ribbon is maintainedregardless, for all practical purposes, of the diameter or width of theloop, as determined by the size of the point of attachment. It is to benoted further that the bending of the metal by the central thumb nutagainst an ear 23 is in a direction exactly opposite to the bending ofthe metal through the contact of the spreaders and the ribbon, so thatan intimate frictional engagement of the two layers of sheet metal ishad from one spreader to the other.

Each clamp is identical with the other and can be attached in place ateither end of the ribbon, as will be clear, but the parts are soproportioned, further, that a nesting of a pair of clamps is effected byturning them with the bases in opposite directions, then pushing themtogether with the spreaders in staggered relation and with the ears instaggered relation, so that the upper one is extended longitudinally andlaterally of the lower one by the thickness of a spreader and an earrespectively, to form a compact merchandising unit, arranged fordisposition in the axial opening of the coil in the container. In thisassembly also the thumb nuts may be removed from their supporting earsand placed in the container beside the nested clamps.

It will be evident that the application of the clam) of this inventionre uires no reat strength nor skill, so that the universal availabilityof the device for all drivers, including women will be clear.

't is preferred that sheet metal of the characteristics listed be used,although it is contemplated that material of greater pliability might beavailed of for the purpose, utilizing in connection with thinner metal,greater width of material to impart the required strength. For suchmaterial, and even of the material previously discussed, a differentapplication of the clamps may be utilized as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Inthis form of fastening, after the loop has been formed as previouslydiscussed, the double layer of metal had at the point of cent-act isbent or creased upon a line longitudinal of the rib bon, so that theclamp may be applied vertically upon the ribbon, with the spreader-sinserted between the two folds of metal, each fold being of doublethickness, and with the central contacting pairs of double layersengaged between the ears of the clamp, and compressed by the thumb nutin the same manner as in the preferred form. Although it is possiblethat some strength may be required for this folding operation, it caneasily be effected by pliers or similar tools, and it has the advantageof frictional contact and engagement on three faces or edges of thespreader instead of on but two as in the preferred form. V p

In either form of attachment it will be noted that owing to thepliability of the sheet vmetal it may be bent readily on transverse; 7

between the ears.

The neatness, compactness and economy of the pacrraged article, the easewith which the ribbon of metal may be removed or insertedlisn inthecontainer, the nesting of the clamps, all combine to form an article of;anufac ture of meri which may be manufactured and sold ata minimum ofexpense, and purchased andused with a minimum of troublefiti ordiiiiculty.

Afeature of the invention is the fact that the sheet-metal ribbons areunfinished beyond a mere cutting operation, there being no attachedbuckles, nor drums, nor chains,- nor hooks, nor any deviceswhich whileseeming tofacilitate the attachment of the device really increase thecost inordinately and weaken the assembly by their very attachment tothe towing element.

I claim as my invention:

, 1. A towing device comprising a ribbon of sheet metal, and means forengaging two longitudinally estendinglayers of the ribbon frict-icnallywhen it is bent upon itself to form a loop andis longitudinally creased,with means adyacent said first mentioned means for separating thelongitudinal layers of ribbon and maintaining the spaced rclationdespite longitudinal strain on the ribbon to effect a secondaryfrictional engagement between the last mentioned means and the ribbonportions.

2. A clamp for towing ribbons comprising a longitudinal base terminatingin perpen- 11119 dicula-r spread devices, side members carried by thebase between the spread devices, and means engaging a side member forcompressingthe ribbon.

3. A clamp for engaging flexible metal ribbons, comprising means forcingportions of the ribbon together, and means interposed between portionsof the ribbon responsive to such forcing action to increase thefrictional force exerted upon the portions by spreading 2 the portions.

l. A clamp for towing ribbons comprising a base, perpendicular spreaddevices mounted 011 the base, the spread devices having arcuate Us edgesfor frictional engagement with the entire cross surface of an adjacentsheet metal ribbon, substantially; and means close to the spread devicesfor compressing such sheet metal ribbon against the curving tendency of1 the edge'of the spreader upon contact with such sheet metal ribbon.

' In combination, a ribbon of flexible semi rigid sheet metal, arrangedto be looped upon itself; a clamp including a laterally divergentspreader .insertable in-the. loop having an edge forming a frictionalcontact; and means on the clamp adjacent the spreader for forcing theportions of the ribbon together to increase the friction between theedge'of the spreader and the ribbon.

6. A tow rope comprising in combination ;a ribbon of bendable sheetmetal arranged to assume and substantially retain loop formation withportions of the ribbon in contact; a clamp comprising a base, a spreaderand ears extending from the same side of the base but having spacesbetween them, the ears arranged for embracing association with thecontacting portions of the ribbon in the space between the ears, and thespreader arranged for spreadin association with portions of the ribbonadjacent the contacting portions through the space between the spreaderand said ears substantially simultaneously upon the preforming of theloop to receive the clamp and movement of the clamp toward the ribbontransversely of vits longitudinal extent; means compressing thecontacting portions of the ribbon between the ears to increase thefriction between the ribbon and the spreader.

7 A clamp arranged for association with a sheet metal ribbon when suchribbon has been bent upon itself to form a loop comprisingmeansengageable between layers comprlsing such loop for maintalmng spacedrelation ofsuch layers and comprising means for frictionally engagingsuch layers in proximlty to sald first mentioned means.

7 -Signed at Philadelphia, county of Phila of Nov., 1927.

delphia, State of Pennsylvania this 15th day HARRY n. KREOHMER.

